MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.20.

MSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens downgraded MSC Industrial Direct from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock opened at $74.80 on Monday. MSC Industrial Direct has a 12 month low of $74.71 and a 12 month high of $104.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.89.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is 74.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSM. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 53.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 2.4% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 6.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.